Family Dynamics
by Flowerlady
Summary: post-BD...ExB, Jake, Nessie, Leah, Seth, CharliexSue, Cullens, Werewolves...Can the pending marriage of the Vampire’s dad and the Werewolves’ mom make them all a big happy family?
1. Chapter 1: Family Dynamics

**Title:** Family Dynamics

**Author:** Flowerlady

**Rating:** PG-13

**Timeframe:** Post-_Breaking Dawn_

**Warning:** _Breaking Dawn_ Spoilers

**Genre:** Drama/ Humor

**Characters:** Charlie Swan/Sue Clearwater, Edward/Bella, Jacob, Nessie, Seth, Leah, the Cullen family, and some of the other Werewolves as well.

**Disclaimer:** All characters belong to Stephanie Meyer.

**Summary: **Can the pending marriage of the Vampire's dad and the Werewolves' mom make them all a big happy family?

**Status:** WIP

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**Family Dynamics**

**Chapter 1**

I couldn't believe how happy I was. The past few months had blissfully flew by since the Volturi left our quiet little world of Forks, Washington, leaving our family hopefully forgotten. Today, finally, warmed up enough to allow me to enjoy my little garden around the cottage that Edward, Nessie (yeah, I will never forgive Jake for that) and I called home.

Tulips and daffodils were in full bloom, and I decided that I wanted to bring a large bouquet inside. Our house was small, but I loved it. Originally we wouldn't have need of a kitchen and one hadn't been built into the house. However, Nessie was as human as she was vampire, and we really tried to get her to experiment with human food; we had one added to the house. We also decided that since we had to use the original office space for Nessie's room, we had a den added as well. Our little three room house—not counting the bathroom and our massive closet—was now five rooms, but Esme and I both made sure it lost none of the charm that Edward and I fell in love with to begin with.

I entered the back door into my small, but cozy kitchen to find Edward at the stove cooking what smelled like omelets and fried bacon. It still amazed me at how good a cook he was…well, he looked like he knew what he was doing. Of course, either of us had any idea for sure. It all smelled incredibly unappealing to me. Edward assured me that I would eventually become desensitized to the stench of human food, just as I would to human blood. But it wasn't just the food that I smelled, and I wrinkled my nose at the wet dog smell as I leaned up to kiss my husband's amused lips.

"Those are pretty," he said as I stepped away.

"Yeah, I can't believe how many are out there. I can't wait to see the yard in another month or so."

He grinned his lopsided smile that still made me catch my breath at its beauty and said in his velvety voice, "I'm sure it will be nice, but you know I'm blinded by your beauty."

He kissed me again, and this time he deepened it. I was lost for several moments until a throat cleared loudly behind us.

"Don't mind them, Jake," a small ring-like voice chimed, a counter point to the scratching of a pencil against paper, "I'm used to it. Uncle Emmett tells me that I should just ignore the newly-weds and that I should be surprised that the house is still standing. I don't really know what he means though. Can you tell me, Jake?"

I smiled, embarrassed by Nessie's assessment, but also satisfied at Jake's sudden floundering, as I stepped away from my too gorgeous husband. I distracted myself by reaching up into the cupboard beside the sink and retrieving a vase. Finally, I looked over my shoulder at the figures at the small round table that Alice insisted wasn't the priceless antique that it appeared to be.

"Emmm…"

Edward looked at him and raised a single brow, waiting for the answer as expectantly as Nessie was. Jake swallowed and shook his head as he looked back at my eight month daughter, who was aged physically to about five. I decided to take pity on him and greeted our almost constant guest, "Jake, you're here early."

He met my gaze and breathed a silent thank you from where he and Renesme were working on a sheet of first grade math problems. A smile spread across his face as he replied, "Bells, I hope you don't mind. I wanted to see Nessie before I headed off to school."

Jake was in a flexible program that allowed him to work both independently and in the classroom. He only attended the high school in La Push for a half a day, while the other half was supposed to be dedicated to working at the local garage. However, he spent most of his time here.

I glanced over at Edward, who grunted his displeasure, or maybe it was disappointment at not being entertained by Jake's answer, as he turned away from the stove holding two plates of breakfast foods. One was piled high with bacon and eggs enough to feed at least three people, while the other was a child-sized portion.

"Okay, here you go," he said as Jake quickly gathered up Nessie's school work to make room for their breakfast.

Jake grinned as he took a big whiff and said, "Thanks, Edward. You know, for a guy who doesn't eat, you sure know how to cook."

As he watched Jake dig in with relish, Edward muttered something that sounded like, "You should know, you eat enough for all of us put together."

Jake ignored him and looked over at the little girl beside him. She was gingerly picking at the eggs and vegetable mixture with a concentrated expression on her lovely porcelain face. He swallowed a mouth full of the same and smiled as he said, "Ah, c'mon, Nessie, we had this the other day and you liked it." He picked up another fork-full and ate it with gusto.

She watched him skeptically and then decided to take her first bite. After I sat the vase of red, white and pink tulips and cheery yellow daffodils on the small sideboard, I went back to stand beside Edward. He wrapped his arm around my waist and I hugged his with both of mine, as we watched as Jake continued to make a game out of the food as Nessie giggled and tried to imitate him.

Nessie still preferred blood, but we stopped giving her donated blood. She finally relented and would have been happy with our diet of animal blood, but Carlisle suggested that we really consider feeding her more human food.

He had a good argument, or rather arguments. First, she needed all the nutrition she could get considering her phenomenal growth rate. And secondly, if she and Jake did eventually—oh, I didn't even want to think of the word—marry, she would have to be part of the human world as much as she was of ours. Jake may be a werewolf, but he still was mostly human.

Finally, they finished their breakfast and Jake cleaned up the dishes, while I got Nessie back on track with her math lesson. Edward leaned against the counter with his arms crossed over his chest and watched Jake.

After Jacob was about half way through cleaning up, Edward said, "Jake, I know this may seem strange coming from me, but I really wish you'd go back to school full time. Education is important."

I heard Jacob take a deep breath and pause in his splashing and washing. "Now you sound like my dad."

Edward raised his brow again and looked over at Nessie. Jake caught his glance and sighed.

"Oh, for crying out loud," Jake muttered. "I'm like her uncle. She's still a baby."

I was eternally happy that Jake felt like that, but Edward was concerned about the future. He turned toward him and said so low I had to strain to hear it. "Jake, I know what imprinting is and I know what it means. As much as I'd like for you to disappear, I know it isn't going to happen." Then he looked back at us and whispered, "You're good for her, Jake. In a family of vampires, you are the link to her humanity none of us can be, including Bella. But," he looked back at Jacob, "you won't be a kid forever."

Jake laid the dish towel down and snorted. "And this is coming from someone who will never be older than seventeen."

Realizing this conversation was going to become louder than whispers that Nessie so far seemed to be ignoring, I decided that it was time to remove her from the room. "Nessie, why don't you go and pick up your toys in your room. Momma will be in in a bit to help."

She looked up at me and beetled her brows. I never sent her away from her school work. She glanced up at the stern faces of her friend and her father and whispered, "Are they going to fight again?"

"Not if I can help it," I assured her and she hoped off the chair to disappear around the corner, throwing us all a skeptical look.

I stood up and moved over to them. With a firm voice that couldn't be argued with, I ordered, "Outside. Both of you." Once on the small on the back porch, I said, "Jake, you know what Edward means. You won't be stuck at seventeen forever, or rather sixteen. Once you stop phasing…"

"Well, I don't intend to stop. How can I?"

"I don't know what you mean," I responded to his acid tone.

"He can't, Bella," Edward resignedly answered for Jacob. At my puzzlement, he went on, "Nessie will stop aging once she hits about physical age twenty. If Jacob stops phasing he'll start to age, not too different from why you didn't want to turn nineteen."

"Oh…" I realized I had never thought about that. I didn't want to think about Nessie growing up before my eyes. And I especially didn't want to think about Jacob and Nessie as adults.

Fortunately, Edward saved me from further explaining myself by saying, "Jacob, I may be stuck in the body of a seventeen-year-old, but I'm almost a hundred and ten. I've graduated high school more times than I care to count and have attended college nearly as many times. I know I'll never be able to practice medicine even if I managed to become as desensitized as Carlisle is to blood, I look too young to be a doctor, but I don't care. Learning is important no matter how old, or how young, we physically are." He then smiled at me and added, "That's why Bella is taking courses over the summer through correspondence."

Jacob stared at us for a long time. I couldn't tell if we got through to him or not, but he finally muttered, "Well, I have to go. I'll say bye to Nessie on my way out."

I moved forward. Catching his arm, he met my eyes and I said, "Jake, we only care about you. Please, understand that."

"I know. Bye, Bells." He kissed my forehead quickly, and then ducked through the door and disappeared inside.

Edward moved to stand behind me and wrapped his arms around me. I took a deep breath and tried to relax in his embrace. Edward kissed my temple and said, "Don't worry too much about him, love. He's a good kid. I just hope that he graduates sometime before Nessie does."

I pulled out of his arms and turned to face him. "You know, you are much too okay with the fact that your biggest rival over me will someday become your son-in-law."

Edward laughed and shrugged. "What am I supposed to do? He isn't going away. And I really do think Nessie could do a lot worse than Jacob Black."

"Oh, you are impossible!" I exclaimed and re-entered the warmth of the kitchen.

Nessie was at the doorway between the kitchen and the living room with my cell phone pressed to her ear. She smiled and said, "No, Grandpa, here she is. She and Daddy were fighting with Jake again about school."

I gave Edward an exasperated look and he laughed. "So much for being subtle," he whispered to me.

I took the phone and put it to my ear. "Hi, Dad."

"Hi, Bella. Hey…emmm…I—" I suddenly had a bad feeling about the way Charlie was stuttering over his words.

Then I heard a voice in the background that I shouldn't be hearing at my father's house at eight AM. "Just ask her, Charlie."

"I'm getting around to it, Sue." Then he said to me, "Bell, Sue and I would like you, Edward and Nessie to meet us at the Lodge for dinner tonight. Seth and Leah will be there too. Emmm…" he paused again and I heard Sue whisper again, but I couldn't catch the words. "Ahhh…we kinda have an announcement."

And suddenly I realized my life was about to become very interesting.

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	2. Chapter 2

Thanks for reading everyone!! The moment I get a chance I'll respond to you all via your review. I really do appreciate the response to my venturing away from my usual fandom...

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**_Chapter 2_**

The last place that I wanted to be was in a crowded, over-warm restaurant that I never really enjoyed even as a human. After Charlie called me, I immediately went hunting. I knew that the only way that I could stand to be among all these humans and not be overwhelmed by my thirst was to gorge myself with blood. As I walked into through the door, holding Nessie's hand tightly, I realized that it was still going to be a challenge to be among so many humans.

Edward had assured me that I could do this. I hoped that he was right. I've ventured among the people of Forks a little more than I had been for the past month or so. About two months ago my eyes finally darkened to the soft amber common to "vegetarian" vampires. The gossip was that I contracted some rare disease in South America during our honeymoon and that I spent months in isolation at the CDC in Atlanta. As for why I looked totally different was easy to let the gossip mongers come up with—the story went that I had plastic surgery to fix the ravages of the illness. Of course, we let that one go. I was upset at first that people would think me so vain to want plastic surgery, but it served the purpose—it explained why I suddenly was sheet pale and gorgeous.

This was also Nessie's first outing among so many humans. Out of necessity, we had kept her close to home, except to visit at Charlie's and twice I left her go to La Push to BeachFirst with Jacob before it became crowded with tourists. However, we had a story about how she showed up in our lives and it was just as easy to let people's own imagination take over. The Cullens and, surprisingly, my father planted the seeds about the tragic story about Edward's older brother and the accident that took the lives of him and his wife, leaving Renesmee orphaned. No one seemed to wonder why Edward and this mysterious brother hadn't been together with the rest of the Cullens, or why, if he was old enough to have a toddler to school-aged daughter, he hadn't taken care of Edward. I was sure there was plenty of gossip out there, but I wasn't sure I wanted to hear it.

We reached the double, multiple-paned glass doors and Edward held one open for Nessie and me. I took a deep breath with the intention of holding it, but decided that I couldn't hold it the whole time anyway. I'd have to hold a conversation. It would be better if I just got used to it now. I stopped inside the entry and instantly was assaulted with the burn in my throat. It was like I hadn't drained the two mountain lions of blood just hours ago in an attempt to make this better. I had purposefully hunted a predator instead of the usual deer, and found two instead of only one, hoping that the better tasting blood would quench my thirst. But I wasn't so sure if it had; my throat was on fire as I breathed in the heavy air inside the crowded restaurant. The air hung as fragrant with the delicious scent of human blood, as it did the stench of burnt steaks, greasy fried potatoes and other unpleasant smells that I didn't want to name.

I felt the venom begin to flow and I started to panic. How was I going to do this? I wondered over and over again. Edward sensing my concern quickly took my hand. He leaned over and whispered for only my ears, "You're doing fine, Bella. Let me know if it's too much and we'll leave. You only need to say the word."

I nodded my thanks and squeezed his hand. "I'm okay. Just stay close."

He smiled and leaned down to pick Nessie up. He whispered into her ear about being a good girl and together we stepped before the hostess podium to wait to be seated. As a girl I recognized as an underclassman from our last year of high-school came forward, Edward murmured in my ear, "I'll be right beside you, and Seth is here, too."

I was glad that he didn't mention Leah. I wondered what she would do if I would lose control. I shuddered at the unpleasant vision of me attacking my father and the patrons, who were enjoying their meals of steaks and French fries, mugs of beer and the Lodge's famous cheesecake, and comfortable companionship with family and friends. Then the vision turned to the aftermath of such an act. My family would be destroyed, the town horrified, and the werewolves, Seth and Leah, would be exposed as well. Possibly even hurt or killed as they tried to stop me. Seth was already like a little brother to me, and though Leah and I were far from friends, I'd never want to hurt her. I shook the horrible scene from my mind, but not before it strengthened my resolve. I would never hurt any of them. The pain that just the thought caused me was enough to make me not to ever want to feel it for real.

Quenching the burn of my throat wasn't worth it.

"I'm okay, Edward, really," I said with conviction and he smiled at me. He believed me.

"I knew you would be."

Then the hostess bounced up to the podium and immediately flashed Edward a beaming smile. He shifted Nessie in his arms and slipped his arm around my waist. The younger girl instantly realized that he wasn't in the bit least interested. Hard to believe she was only a year younger than me, my life now seemed light years away from hers.

"Three?" she asked finally.

"Actually, we're to meet Chief Charlie Swan here," Edward answered as he looked over her shoulder into the main dinning room.

"Oh, follow me," she said and grabbed three menus.

Charlie, Sue, Seth and Leah were already seated at a group of tables that had been pushed together to accommodate the size of our party. Charlie and Sue stood when they saw us coming, and he smiled nervously at me. I suspected what their announcement was, but I'd play along.

"Hey, you guys finally made it," Seth said and gave me a reassuring smile. Whether by design or just by good luck, the massive hulk that looked much older than his fifteen years was sitting beside the chair my father was indicating for me, across from Sue.

I grinned back at my dad and Sue, and then turned to Seth, who hugged me, pulled on one of Renesmee's bronze colored curls, and then patted Edward on the shoulder. I was suddenly glad that he was here. After Edward held out my chair and I was seated, he situated Nessie beside me. Finally, he sat on the other side of our daughter and across from Leah. Charlie, Sue and Seth resumed their seats, while Charlie chatted with Nessie about what she had been doing since he had seen her three days ago.

Only then did I allow myself a look at Leah. She was all but scowling at us. We had never been friends to begin with, and now we had the natural animosity of vampire and werewolf between us. Of all the wolves in the two packs, Leah was the most belligerent with her dislike for us—it was like none of our times working as allies to defeat common enemies or Jacob's imprinting on my daughter seemed to dilute it.

"I'm surprised to see you, Bella," she said as she glanced back to her menu.

"Why would you be surprised at that, Leah?" Seth said glaringly at his sister. "Charlie is her dad."

"Well, this isn't exactly her kind of place to eat anymore. Now, is it, Bella?"

I saw Edward stiffen; I knew she was baiting me, and he did as well. I wasn't going to take the bait, though, and Edward immediately relaxed when I turned my attention to Nessie.

"Okay, sweetheart, I know what I want—" Leah snorted, but we ignored her and I went on in a gentle tone, "—let's figure out what's good on here for you."

I turned the menu over and found the children's listing. As we read it, she wrinkled her nose at the offerings. I knew this was going to be a challenge. But then Seth leaned behind me and said to her, "Hey, Nessie, I bet you'd like hot-dogs."

She stared at him aghast, I could only imagine what was running through her mind, and it was confirmed when Edward had to hide a snicker behind a cough.

"Not that kind of dogs," Edward said softly. Of course, Charlie laughed as well, but I doubt he'd be amused if he knew that the vampires in our family called the werewolves _dogs_ and that was what his granddaughter was thinking.

Seth grinned, amusingly and said, "Jacob really likes hot-dogs." Now it was my father who grunted. He still wasn't comfortable around Jake since his stunt months ago when he phased into a werewolf before him. He considered him a freak and wasn't happy that he seemed so attached to his granddaughter. Seth ignored the grunt and went on, "He can eat a whole bunch. Just think what he will think if you eat one."

I watched as my little girl's face beamed with a bright smile that rivaled the sun. She would do anything to please Jacob. I tried not to let it bug me at the moment.

However, it apparently bothered Leah. She huffed and I caught the sudden trembling of her hand as she laid the menu on the table before her. Sue also caught sight of it and glared at her.

"Leah," Sue admonished in her gentle voice, "stop it right now."

Leah looked up at her mother and swallowed. The trembling immediately stopped. I looked at Edward who was staring at the young woman across from him with something akin to surprise.

We were saved from Charlie's curiosity by the waitress. "Are you ready?"

Five suddenly anxious voices immediately sounded at once: "Yes!"

And Charlie's unvoiced question was left just that—unvoiced.

Because we knew Charlie would have been offended if we asked to pay the tab or asked for separate checks, we decided to order the least expensive thing on the menu. It didn't matter what it was, neither of us would eat it anyway. So, Edward and I ordered the spaghetti dinner, Nessie got a hot-dog and applesauce. I decided if she was going to eat human food, we would limit the junk. Hot-dogs were bad enough; French fries were out of the question.

Seth ordered a t-bone with a cheeseburger on the side with two baked potatoes. Leah didn't order as much, but her dinner selection of the restaurant's famed Monster Burger also defied what was expected for someone so thin. Sue and Charlie settled on New York strip steaks.

After our drinks and the salads that went with the steak dinners were delivered, Sue asked me about my upcoming course work. I was taking Internet courses over the summer from Phoenix. I was majoring in education; something about teaching really intrigued me after I started teaching Nessie the basics. I decided that it would be a good idea to get as much knowledge as I could about the science of learning and teaching. I realized that I'd probably never really be able to use it in the human world, but Nessie needed taught, and traditional school was out of the question for her. University

I was glad to be talking about something that took the attention off of dinner. I was really looking forward to college. Edward and I were still deciding on whether to reapply to for the fall, or to the University again. I preferred Alaska, simply for its wildness. Somehow that made me feel more at ease than going to did.

Suddenly, Charlie asked between bites of his steak and potato, "So, have you talked to your mom recently?"

Mom. I really did miss her, but I had grown fairly distant from her over the past months. She emailed me often and she called at least once a week. She had wanted us to go down to for Easter last month, but we fended her off with the lie that Edward had just started a college course and wouldn't be able to get away. That seemed to appease her, especially after I announced that I was going to follow in her footsteps and work on my teaching degree. She was ecstatic that I'd even consider teaching. Both she and Phil were teachers, though Phil gave it up to play minor league baseball.

"Yeah, I just talked to her two days ago. They were getting ready to go somewhere with Phil's team. She was excited as usual to be traveling," I answered as I picked at a piece of bread, pretending to be nibbling on it, but actually I was pulverizing the dry bread in my fingers before getting it to my mouth. The napkin in my lap was catching the fine crumbs.

"Well, I just wondered if you were talking to her. I get the feeling that she doesn't know anything about what's really going on with you."

I smiled and shrugged. "There's not really much to tell. I'm happily married to the man of my dreams. Not very exciting to the outside world at all. Very normal and mundane even." I glanced at Edward who flashed me a breathtaking smile. I returned it.

My father snorted. "Somehow I have the feeling that is further from the truth than anything else you've told me."

Edward grinned at his father-in-law as he said, "We haven't really told you anything, remember? Need-to-know only?"

"Yeah, yeah," he glared at Edward.

Oddly it was Leah who saved us from any further discussion on what really was the truth about us. "So, what's going on? Why the fancy dinner?" Her usual impatience was shining through in her snappy tone.

Charlie suddenly looked at Sue, and I was amazed at the handsome smile that spread across his face, to be matched by one on Sue's face. She nodded minutely, and Charlie then turned back to us and cleared his throat. Still not sure if he could spill whatever the big announcement was, he reached for his glass of Coke and took a long drawl before finally starting. "We—Sue and I—asked you here to tell you that…we…er…emmm…"

Sue shook her head, chuckled at his floundering, and saved him by saying, "Charlie and I are getting married."

"That's great, Mom!" Seth immediately said.

At the same time, Edward added, "Congratulations."

I chimed in with, "I'm so happy for you!"

Nessie clapped in response to our happy voices.

And Leah bellowed, "_What?_"

Sue turned to her eldest with a look of shock, and possibly hurt, on her still pretty bronzed face. "Leah?"

Leah stood up and threw her napkin on her plate of half eaten burger and French fries. "How can you do this, Mom? Dad has barely been dead for a year and already you're shacking up with his best-friend."

"Leah, sit down. _Now_," Sue ordered in a stern tone. Leah stared at her for several long moments with her trembling hands fisted at her sides. Several people at nearby tables turned to watch the outburst.

"Leah," Seth growled, "now."

She turned toward her brother and glared, but she obeyed the order. Her face was a mask of her long buried grief but she didn't say anything else as she stared down into her plate of half-eaten food unseeingly.

I gazed at her and couldn't help, but to suddenly feel sorry for her. She and her father had been close. Harry Clearwater had been a good man, and he and Charlie had been friends for over twenty years. I wasn't sure how or when my dad's concern and friendship for his best-friend's widow turned to something else, but I could tell over the past few months that they had fallen in love with each other. My dad had pined for nearly eighteen years over my mother's leaving him. I was happy that he finally found love again, and who better than Sue. She knew what my other family was about. She understood at least, even if she couldn't accept.

But as I watched Leah, I knew she felt betrayed and I wondered what would happen next.

I didn't have to wait long. "Well," she looked up at me with an expression of pure hate, "I just can't get rid of you. So, what are we now? _The Brady Bunch_? No, that's far too tame…" I had a sinking feeling and it was confirmed by Edward's sudden low hiss, but she went on with a sick sort of smirk, "Oh, I got it. We're _The Addams Family_, or is it _The Munsters_? I'm glad that I can choose my relatives in this case." She stood up again and turned to her livid mother and my bewildered father. "I'm glad that you're happy, I guess. But I'm not glad that this is happening. I'll see you around. Thanks for dinner, Charlie." And with that she quickly weaved an unsettled path out of the restaurant.

Seth growled beside me and said, "When will she ever just grow up already?"

But I suddenly wondered if immaturity was really what was eating away at my soon-to-be werewolf stepsister.

After a moment longer of silence, Charlie forced a smile and asked, "So, what are we more like—_The Brady Bunch_ or _The Addams Family_?"

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	3. Chapter 3

**Thanks for reading everyone!!**

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_**Chapter 3**_

With a serious expression of a decision being made, Edward was the one that answered my father's question. "Charlie, I think we should answer that question back at the house, if you don't mind."

Charlie stared at first my husband and then he turned to me. Finally, he glanced at Nessie, who was watching the proceedings with an intensity that would have even belied a five-year-old, and be beyond impossible for an eight-month-old. Slowly he nodded, and then looked over at Sue. Softly he asked, "You know what's going on, don't you?"

She took his hand, which was sitting beside his forgotten dinner plate, and replied, "Yeah, Charlie, I do. And Edward's right, this can't be a conversation held in public." Then she turned to us and added sadly, "I'm sorry, Bella, Edward. I don't know what's gotten into her lately. I thought after…well, you know…things were better. But now…" She shook her head and looked down at her plate.

Oddly it was Charlie who provided her comfort, though he clearly had no idea what he was comforting Sue for. He wrapped his arm around her slight shoulders and pulled her to his chest. It was strange seeing my father like that with a woman. I was too little to remember my parents being married, but I had never seen him remotely intimate before. I wasn't even sure if he even dated. I'm sure he did, but he hadn't so much as mentioned going out with a woman the whole time I'd been in Forks.

Softly, he murmured into her short black hair, "It's okay, Suzie. This is hard for Leah. I get it. We all miss Harry."

Sue took a deep breath and looked up at him. She smiled as she whispered back, "Thanks, for trying to understand, Charlie. I love you."

Charlie grinned back and winked as he said, "I love you, too." Then he shocked me when he leaned down and kissed her. It was only a quick peck, but it was a jolt to me.

_My father was in love and getting married!_

"Okay, enough of that," Seth quipped. "Some of us are still innocent."

We all laughed at Seth's attempt at humor, but a shadow had been cast over the evening. After a moment, Charlie asked, "Are we all done then? It doesn't seem like any of us are hungry any longer."

We agreed to follow Charlie back to the house. Once inside the Volvo, I turned to Edward and said, "Okay, out with it. You know what's really going on with Leah."

He looked intently out at the gloom of the evening and took a deep breath.

After a long moment, he turned and looked at Nessie who was watching him as closely as I was. Finally, he replied, "She's upset."

I huffed. "No kidding. I don't need to be a mind reader to figure that out."

He met my gaze and said, "Okay. She's jealous of…someone." At first I thought he meant me, or possibly Charlie, but then he flicked his glance at Nessie. It all pieced together in a space of a heartbeat—Nessie's heartbeat.

Leah was jealous of Nessie and Jacob's relationship. "Does she have…feelings for…you know who?"

"I hate driving this slow," Edward mumbled through gritted teeth at driving the annoying twenty-five mile-an-hour speed limit. He was following his Chief of Police father-in-law; he should have known that Charlie would obey the law. He looked at me and answered my oblique question. "Yes, she does. She feels betrayed by him. She thought they were getting somewhere with their relationship. Apparently, they were planning on going away together after…after you—changed. Then that didn't happen because he and…well, you know. We've gained a _pet_ since then." I ignored his slight at Jacob. He shrugged as he pulled along the curb in front of Charlie's house. "But that's not all. She really does feel like Charlie and Sue somehow are betraying her father's trust. She hates that all the wolves are imprinting. Apparently, Brady imprinted on a four-year-old that his mother baby-sits a week ago. She's not Native American either, which along with…emmm…the _pet_'s imprinting, seems to negate a lot of the theories of why they imprint to begin with. None of which is comforting for Leah." He shook his head as if to clear it of her memories and said, "She is so embittered that I don't like being in her mind for long."

"Well," I sighed, "that explains a lot. You know, I do feel sorry for her."

He turned the car off and reached to open his door. "Well, don't. Trust me, Bella; she isn't worth your pity. I agree that Leah does seem to be highly unlucky in love, but she doesn't make it easy either. I know from being in the pack's collective mind that she is very vengeful. It's really no wonder none of them are interested in her, she makes their lives miserable."

I sat there contemplating what he told me as I waited for him to get my door. There was a motion by the forest and Leah entered the yard. I instantly braced myself for the worse.

Seth caught site of her, too, and scowled at his older sister. It was easy to tell from her appearance that she had just phased from being a wolf. "Leah, what are you doing here?" Seth growled. He was extremely upset with her.

She stepped forward and Sue and Charlie turned to watch her. Charlie was surprised, Sue was anxious, but saved us from having a scene in the front yard by saying, "Let's all go inside. I think we have to get some things out into the open right now."

Once inside the small front room of Charlie's house, Sue took a deep breath and turned toward Charlie. "There are many things that we have to talk about. But before we get into those things I have something to say to you kids." She turned toward us. Edward and I were standing near the front window, Edward held Nessie, and he and I were as still as statues. Seth stood beside his sister a little closer to the door. Charlie and Sue were by the couch. None of us sat in the seating, and I hoped the tension would not consume us. As if feeling the same way, Sue sat down and pulled Charlie with him.

Holding his hand, she looked over at her kids by the door and said, "I know this seems sudden to you and that you feel as if I'm betraying your dad, but I know for a fact Harry would have wanted me to be happy." She paused and swallowed hard, as if what she was about to say was difficult to get out. "We used to talk about what the other one would do if one of us—passed on. Harry always thought that he'd be the first to go. Of course, neither of us thought it would be so soon. But he never wanted me to be alone. We loved each other and I never, ever considered being with another man. I didn't plan on falling in love with Charlie and I denied it for a long time. Just as he did. We both had a hard time coming to terms with our feelings, and what we felt for Harry, and what all this meant since he was now gone. We were there for each other during a hard time and out if it we fell in love." They shared a private smile and again I was struck with how different my father was.

Charlie looked at me then, and said in a gruff voice laden with emotion, "After you got married, I realized that I was truly all alone. Then you got sick and I couldn't even see you. I was worried sick, if it hadn't been for Sue…" he visibly shuddered and I realized for the first time how much my leaving affected my father. I may not have spent much of my childhood with him, but I realized right then just how much he truly lived for me, even when I wasn't living under his roof.

"I'm so sorry, Dad," I all but whispered and a silent sob erupted from my throat. Edward took my hand and squeezed it.

Leah shuffled uncomfortably by the door, and then she muttered, "I'm sorry, too, Charlie, Mom, for the way I acted in the restaurant."

Charlie smiled over at her. "I understand, Leah. You and Seth didn't have an easy time of it either."

Seth shrugged and answered for his sister, "Well, it wasn't just Dad's dying that bothered us." He looked at Edward and me, and then at Sue, who nodded once. Seth then moved forward and kneeled before Charlie. Smiling, he said, "Do you remember when Jacob turned into a wolf?"

Charlie scowled, nodded and snapped, "It's something I try to forget. He scared me half to death when he did that."

Seth chuckled and responded, "Well, I think he could have gone about it a little differently, but I do get why he did it the way that he did. Now, would you have believed him if he had just _told_ you that he's a werewolf?"

Charlie chuckled and agreed, "No, probably not. I would have thought he had lost his mind. Instead, he made me think that I lost mine."

We all shared an uneasy snicker. Then suddenly, Nessie hoped out of Edward's arms and moved toward Seth. She looked at Seth and placed her tiny hand on his cheek. He grinned and nodded. I suddenly realized what she was about to do, but Edward shook his head negatively before I would call her back to us. I anxiously watched as she stepped over to Charlie. He picked her up and sat her on his lap. Then she asked, "Let me tell you, Grandpa. I have a special gift. I'd like to show you."

"Okay…" Charlie hesitantly said and then looked up at us. "Is this one of those need-to-know things?"

Edward laughed and shrugged. "Well, Charlie, you are the only one of us here who doesn't know everything. I think it's about time that you do." Then he became grave as he added, "But you must understand what you are about to discover may not seem believable and it may even be unpleasant to hear. And more importantly it is extremely important to never tell anyone else."

Charlie could only nod. Then he looked down at Nessie. "What do you have to tell me, sweetheart?"

She grinned up at him and touched his chin. A moment later Charlie jerked back. "What the…"

"She's showing you about the wolves, right?" Seth inquired.

"Yeah, but how…"

"I told you that I'm gifted, Grandpa. I can show people my thoughts. I won't hurt you," Nessie's ring-like voice assured him. Then she touched his face again and asked, "Please?"

He swallowed and nodded slowly. I could see the astonishment in his dark eyes as he stared at the angelic little girl.

After another moment he looked at Seth, and then up at Leah. It was to Leah that he asked in a shaky voice, "You're both—ahh—werewolves, too?"

Leah cleared her throat and nodded. "Yeah."

"You're the only girl?"

She nodded again. Then Nessie touched Charlie's face again. After a time, he smiled and said to Leah, "She showed me that you are the fastest of them all and that she thinks that it's great that you're a girl and a—a wolf."

Leah only grunted.

Finally, I said, "Nessie, I think that's all that you should show Grandpa for now."

Charlie looked up and glared at me. "What exactly don't you want her to show me?"

"Dad, I think the rest of this confession should be better done with regular words." I looked at Edward and he smiled at me and squeezed my hand. "Dad, what exactly do you think Edward and I are?"

He sat back and stared at us. His brow furrowed and I knew he was trying to piece it all together in his mind. After all, he was a cop. He may only work in a small town, but he did go to the academy and he knew how to look at evidence. I could almost see his mind work, but he wasn't sure that he could accept the conclusion the evidence was giving him. Finally, he chuckled, but it was full of nervous uncertainty. "And I thought Billy Black was crazy for believing in all those old spooks-under-the-bed tales."

I suppose his response shouldn't have surprised me. Of course, Billy would have told the legends to him in hopes of getting Charlie thinking about Edward.

Edward smiled and said reassuringly, "It is okay, Charlie, none of us will think you've lost your mind or even laugh at your theories."

"Of course, we won't." Leah huffed. "Because the truth is even worse…"

"Leah," Sue warned and Leah shrank back against the doorframe again.

Charlie looked from one face to the other, to finally come to rest on mine. Very quietly he asked, "You knew what he was, right? He didn't trick you. I will never forgive myself if I let you—you become what he is…"

"No, Dad, he didn't trick me. Edward loves me as much as I do him and has only ever wanted to protect me."

Then he looked at Edward. "The rest of your family, are they like you?"

Edward nodded.

"Even Carlisle?"

"Yes."

"But how? I…I don't understand. How is that possible? He's a doctor…"

"What do you think we are, Dad?" I could barely speak.

He stared at me and whispered, "Vampires."

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Please let me know what you think...


	4. Chapter 4

**Thanks for reading everyone!!**

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_**Chapter 4**_

I looked at my father and quietly replied, "Yes."

Charlie blanched and stared at me. I realized that he really didn't want to believe his deduction. But what sane person would? Who believed in vampires? And even if they did, who wanted to believe that their daughter was one?

Nessie was still sitting in his lap and she watched his face intently. Seth, who was still kneeling before him, laid a big, comforting hand on his knee. When Charlie didn't say anything for a long time, Sue rubbed his shoulder and quietly implored, "Charlie…"

He blinked as if waking from a trance, and then glared at Edward. "Get out of my house," his voice was so low and the most dangerous I've ever heard it. "Get away from my daughter and…"

"Dad, Edward isn't going anywhere without me."

He turned toward me and his expression turned to one of pain. "Bella, why? How?"

"I'm sorry, Dad."

Edward, realizing that I was too close to losing control over my emotions, took me into his arms and held me as a tearless sob erupted from my throat. He murmured too quietly for the humans in the room to hear, "Shhhh…Let me handle this. I love you."

Then he turned to Charlie and said, "I never meant for this to happen to her, Charlie. I never meant to fall in love with her, but I did. And it shocked me that, despite knowing what I really was, she felt the same way about me. I spent decades alone. I didn't want to be alone anymore. But I didn't want to hurt her either. I put her in danger every single time I was around her. I tried to leave, but…well, you know how that effected Bella…it effected me the same way. But if she could be happy and safe, I was willing to live all of eternity miserably without her.

"But Fate brought us back together, and I knew I could never live without her. I hadn't wanted to turn her into what I am. I would have been willing to live my life with her, watching her age and when her life was over, I'd soon follow her. One way or another. But she was afraid that I wouldn't feel the same as she aged. And there were—forces outside of our control and that we couldn't escape which demanded that she be made a vampire if she was to be with me. We planned for it to happen after we got to New Hampshire. But then she got pregnant, and, as you already know, Nessie isn't like a normal child."

Charlie looked down at his granddaughter who was still sitting on his lap, still watching him. She touched his cheek and I wanted to stop her, but it was too late. At the look of pain and horror that mixed on Charlie's face, I knew what she was showing him. Then she said, "I didn't want to hurt Momma. I love her. I'm sorry, Grandpa." Then she leaned in and pressed her tiny body against his chest, wrapped her arms around him tightly, and Charlie responded in kind.

"I had no choice, Charlie. I couldn't let her die. Not when I could save her." Edward's voice sounded as anguished as Charlie looked. "I love her too much to let her go. I've spent too many lonely decades waiting for her."

"Just how old are you?" Charlie's question was breathless as he held Renesmee tightly.

"Physically, I'm seventeen." He paused and then looked down at me as he said barely above a whisper, "But I was born in 1901."

Stunned silence.

"How…how did…you…emm…become a…what you are?" Charlie stammered, hardly able to get the words out.

"I was dying of the Spanish Influenza in 1918. My parents both succumbed to it, and I would have surely been next. Carlisle decided to…"

"Wait…Carlisle?"

"Yes, Carlisle was working at the hospital where my parents and I were brought to. He changed me after my mother begged him to save me. It was her dying wish." Edward shrugged, and I knew it was because this was a time of his life that he didn't want to remember.

Charlie nodded as he digested that bit of information, then he turned to Sue and asked, "You knew about him. How did you know?"

She smiled weakly and responded, "Seventy years ago, the Cullens moved into the area. Not long after, three of our young men began changing into wolves. It was in response to the vampires in the area. Vampires have been our enemy since the beginning. And there were tensions when the Cullens began hunting in our areas. But before all out war erupted, Dr. Cullen and Ephraim Black struck a treaty. The Cullens wouldn't enter our lands, and we wouldn't reveal them for what they were as long as they didn't harm any humans."

Again silence, as Charlie looked back to us with a look of utter horror on his face. It was as if he just remembered an important factor about us. Finally, Edward answered Charlie's unspoken question, "We don't drink human blood, Charlie. In fact, Carlisle has never drunk it, though he's tasted it when he changed me, Esme, Rosalie and Emmett. Rosalie has never tasted it. We hunt animals. It's a challenge, but it is worth it."

Charlie turned his horror filled gaze to me. I didn't need Edward's gift to know his question. I took a deep breath and answered it. "I haven't, nor will I, ever hurt anybody, Dad. If I get through this first year as a vampire, I think it won't be a problem."

He stared at me for a long moment and then Nessie touched his face again. He met her eyes and after a moment I asked, "What did she show you?" From the expression on his face, I could only imagine.

He looked back at me and swallowed hard, before answering. "She showed me how she…hunts with…one of the—the wolves." He glanced at Seth and asked, "Is it you?"

Seth, who had stood up and sat in the recliner0 to the left of his mother, shook his head. "No. That's Jake. He takes her hunting." He chuckled softly as he added, "They like to share."

"Share?"

Leah snorted. "She drinks the animal's blood and Jake finishes off the meat."

Charlie shuddered. "But she eats regular food, too. She at a hot-dog tonight."

"With a lot of coaxing, we try to get her to eat as much food as possible," Edward said, smiling. "We want her to learn to like human foods. It will be easier for her to fit in."

Charlie nodded again and then he asked, "Why is she growing up so fast? Is it because she's…a vampire, too?"

"Actually, she's only half vampire, Dad. Though, she will stop aging when she matures to adulthood, she'll always have a lot of her human characteristics, too."

"And when will that be?" Sue asked as she looked at her soon-to-be granddaughter. "She's always changing. It's actually scary. It reminds me of when Seth and the other boys in La Push started growing at astonishing rates."

Edward answered, "According to the others like her, she'll be full grown by age seven."

"There're others?" Sue stared at Edward.

But Seth was the one who answered, "Ummm…Alice found someone else like her…to help everyone to figure out why she was growing up so fast. There's a guy who has three sisters, I think, in South America." He shrugged and then looked over at us with a small grin on his face. Edward flashed him a small, brief smile. I had to admit that that explained things well without getting into the whole Volturi thing.

After that Charlie seemed to relax. He asked questions about the rest of the Cullens. Edward answered honestly about how Carlisle saved Esme, then Rosalie, and how she saved Emmett, but was afraid to try to turn him herself. He then explained, when Charlie asked, about Alice and Jasper joining the family in the 1950's. Finally, Charlie said how he always thought it strange that Carlisle and Esme would have "adopted" all these teenagers. They were so young themselves, after all.

I laughed softly and answered that one. "Actually, that could be true for Esme, especially since Jasper was born in the mid-eighteen hundreds. But as for Carlisle, he's much older than you think, Dad."

"Just how old is Dr. Fang," Leah asked from her place by the door. She had been quiet until now and I actually forget that she was there. "I often wondered about him."

Edward took a deep breath and looked at her. "He was born in the 1640's."

"_What?_" Charlie seemed to have been okay when we were discussing ages that would have amounted to a hundred plus years, but obviously he had no idea just what immortally meant. "That's impossible. That would make him…"

"Almost 370 years old. He was twenty-three when he was changed." Edward then told Charlie the story that he told me about Carlisle that day when I first came home with him.

At the end, Charlie actually laughed.

"Dad? Are you okay?" I asked, concerned.

Between chuckles, he said, "Yeah. I'm a little overwhelmed. But I'm okay." He looked down at Nessie, who was falling to sleep, despite her best efforts to stay awake and listen to the stories. He gave her a squeeze, and then said after looking up at Edward and me, "I'm glad that you told me. I began to think about it after I visited you after Nessie was born. You just looked so different. So much like the rest of them. And there was Nessie. How could she be possible?" He shook his head and then went on, "Then I began to really think about Edward. I realized that I had never seen him eat, or drink. He'd be here hours and never even want a drink. It was the little things that I began to remember. Then Billy began to telling me about some of the old stories when he mentioned to me about Jake's little show and tell. He never mentioned the Cullens, but older stories about how they had defeated vampires in the past. I couldn't figure out why he was telling me all this, but I eventually put it together. And then prayed that I was just being nuts. How could this be possible? Vampires don't exist. But then neither do werewolves."

He laughed again and finally added, "Next, I find out fairies and leprechauns are real."

We all laughed, even Leah. And in the end I hugged my dad and Sue and again felt like everything would be okay.

Well, that was until I looked at Leah.

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Please let me know what you think...


	5. AUTHOR'S NOTE

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

First of all, I'd like to thank everyone who has read my stories over the three years that I've posted on here.

I've appreciated every comment I've gotten on all of my stories and I'm truly sorry that I'm not unable to finish the ones in-progress. Unfortunately, neither do I have any plans to do so at the moment.

Since I consider you all friends, I'd like to share in my current excitement.

I should mention that you can blame Stephanie Meyer. It is due to her becoming an inspiration to me for my discontinuation of these stories...

Because of her wonderful world, I fell in love with vampires...So much so that I've read Anne Rice and many others since then. However, it wasn't just Ms. Meyer's stories that has gotten me more excited about my own original writing than about fanfiction, it was her personal journey to become a writer.

I don't know if my personal story will be similar, but I've just finished my very first original novel that I'm pursuing to have published and began writing the second. The finished novel is the first book of a planned trilogy that could become a series of adult vampire romances focusing on a unique sect of vampires who have become vampire hunters. I have a qualified friend editing it right now and will begin querying agents within a month. I'm both excited and scared to death.

Regrettably, I no longer have time for writing fanfiction. I've been focusing all my energy on editing, writing and researching for my original stuff.

Thanks again for reading and I'm sorry if I've disappointed you in not finishing it…But who knows, you may be able to find my stories someday in a book store near you….

I will make an announcement in my Profile if and when that is to happen.

WISH ME LUCK!!!

If you'd like to email me or PM please do so...I would love to hear from you!!!!

Sara


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